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Unless you live in the city of San Francisco (where the summers are brutally chilly), about the only folks who might not be happy about its arrival are professional skiers and snowboarders. Summertime is Yang within Yang, which means it?Äôs the warmest, most active time for life as we know it. Those with deficiencies truly welcome it, and those with certain excesses can find it a challenge. It is the season dominated by the Earth element, but today we?Äôre going to focus on the effect of the warmth that characterizes this time of the year.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) the effects of temperature on an individual tell us a lot. Aging in TCM is the result of the normally gradual loss of Essence, a TCM term that refers to the life force we?Äôre all born with, and includes the constitution. Essence, amongst other things, helps generate Kidney Fire. Rather than get into lengthy explanations, it?Äôs easier to look at aspects of aging in general to understand how this works.

Children are amazing- most can eat pretty much anything, can sleep all they want and are only cold when it?Äôs really cold. They grow and continue to develop until they reach their mid to late twenties, at which point their physical development is complete. During this period most have an abundance of Essence and they can waste plenty without noticing it. It?Äôs like having $100,000 in the bank- you can spend $1,000 and hardly notice it. But when you?Äôre down to $10,000, suddenly the same amount is ten times more costly.

Hence the appeal of summer- assuming it?Äôs a moderate one, we don?Äôt need too much of this Essence stuff to get by, as some of the heat we need is supplemented by the environment. There?Äôs a good reason the elderly communities flourish in warm places like Arizona and Nevada (though some of that has to do with a lack of damp, the dominant element of summer). Diminished Kidney Fire and/or Yang deficiency are less symptomatic with warmth. To know if you might have a problem related to this condition, while in a group of your peers, see if you feel colder than most. Feel better overall in the summer? While there are other conditions that can cause one to feel cold, how you feel relative to your peers is a clue as to whether something might need to be addressed- while Essence cannot be replaced, it can be supported, using herbs and acupuncture.

Conversely, some of us have great difficulty handling the warm weather. Tempers may flare, headaches recur, and a sensation of hot may be bothersome in general. Certain rashes and infections love the damp-heat of summer, and there may be an inordinate desire to consume cold food and drink. These are symptoms of excess, with the summer ringing them to the surface. For the elderly, an inability to cool their bodies due to overall deficiencies associated with their age can be life threatening.

One of the ways to help sort excess from deficiency is exercise; or more specifically, post exercise. The exercise must be properly executed, meaning all the rules for duration, hydration, intensity and nutrition must be observed both pre and post exercise. Assuming you?Äôre done all this correctly, observe yourself one hour after you finish. The truly excess person is relieved of the excess symptoms, while the deficient person feels worse- perhaps more tired than before, or in greater pain. While these examples are oversimplifications, they allow you to begin to see yourself in relative terms, and can be a start to managing your health.

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